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groof (sh.itjust.works)
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[-] m_xy@lemmy.world 3 points 6 days ago

milf - milves

[-] BananaIsABerry@lemmy.zip 2 points 6 days ago

I propose we use roofies! It sounds cute and probably isn't taken already.

[-] 5parky@lemmy.world 1 points 6 days ago

The trooves are out there.

[-] TheLowestStone@lemmy.world 54 points 1 week ago

Mouse -> Mice

Louse -> Lice

House -> Hice

[-] teft@piefed.world 36 points 1 week ago

ox - oxen
box - boxen
equinox - equinoxen
xerox - xeroxen

[-] foofiepie@lemmy.world 24 points 1 week ago* (last edited 1 week ago)

Die - Dice
Pie - Pice
Tie - Tice
Lie - Lice

[-] teft@piefed.world 13 points 1 week ago

All these lice and misinformation....smh

[-] Klear@lemmy.world 5 points 1 week ago* (last edited 1 week ago)

Lice <- Louse
Tice <- Touse
Pice <- Pouse
Dice <- Douse

[-] hobovision@mander.xyz 3 points 1 week ago

But also

die - dies

If we're talking about tools.

[-] otacon239@lemmy.world 33 points 1 week ago

Check out this sweet moof!

[-] IndiBrony@lemmy.world 11 points 1 week ago

I checked out your ma's sweet moof last night 👉😏👉

[-] eatCasserole@lemmy.world 5 points 1 week ago

I'll accept groof if it means we get moof and rooves.

[-] don@lemmy.ca 28 points 1 week ago

Language is descriptive, so there’s nothing stopping you from using “rooves”, other than what typically results from using words others may not understand. Get enough people over long enough a timeline, and “rooves” becomes the norm, and “roofs” becomes archaic. Just gotta put in the effort.

[-] bran_buckler@lemmy.world 27 points 1 week ago
[-] don@lemmy.ca 12 points 1 week ago
[-] azertyfun@sh.itjust.works 2 points 1 week ago

Linguistics is a descriptive science.

Language though is not science, it's a cultural practice. Adhering to a specific set of rules to signal belonging to a specific cultural subgroup is perfectly normal; and deviation from those rules is not a socially neutral act. When and how you deviate signals a lot of things about you and what you're saying.

That's why slang is fascinating. It always tells a story. Whether it's English Prep School jargon that breached containment, whitewashed AAVL, group in-jokes, unconventional emojis, etc., a slang word says a lot about the person who uses it.

That is to say, if you unironically start saying "rooves", I can't say whether you'll start a trend that will ultimately change English forever (weirder things have happened). But I can assure you that the immediate effect will be that people will label you "tumblr weirdo". Which would be a correct assessment, so that's effective subtextual communication. Yay linguistics!

[-] HellieSkellie@lemmy.dbzer0.com 1 points 1 week ago

Explain prescriptive linguistics

[-] ThisIsNotHim@sopuli.xyz 1 points 1 week ago

I think I've been saying rooves my whole life. I don't think I'd generally write it that way, but it feels more natural to say.

If I have, I'm not sure anyone's noticed. My speech patterns are odd though, so it might not be terribly noticable. It's also possible I've never had to say the word. It's not common that you need to pluralize roof.

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[-] SaltSong@startrek.website 19 points 1 week ago

Because the English language is known for its rigid consistency of pluralization.

[-] EffortlessEffluvium@lemmy.zip 16 points 1 week ago

I am Groof.

[-] SpaceNoodle@lemmy.world 15 points 1 week ago

This dude thinks that the singular of hooves is "hoove"

[-] Jiggle_Physics@sh.itjust.works 10 points 1 week ago

rooves and roofs are both accepted as correct though? Roofs being the standard is a pretty new thing, and not the more common one everywhere

[-] SereneSadie@lemmy.myserv.one 9 points 1 week ago

I haven't once seen 'rooves' used, let alone be considered as correct.

[-] MimicJar@lemmy.world 5 points 1 week ago

Wiktionary says it changed in the 17th century, so depending on your definition of "new", sure. https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/roofs

It doesn't sound weird to me personally, although it does look weird when written out.

[-] Jiggle_Physics@sh.itjust.works 3 points 1 week ago

It is how I was taught in the 80s, and I went to school in Europe, and the US. So, pretty recently it was quite common.

[-] NotASharkInAManSuit@lemmy.world 9 points 1 week ago
[-] Susaga@sh.itjust.works 6 points 1 week ago

Okay, but think about this: Groofy.

As soon as I typed that, I changed my mind. No longer defending groof.

[-] rumschlumpel@feddit.org 2 points 1 week ago

One might say it sounds ... goofy.

[-] Mac@mander.xyz 5 points 1 week ago

They're on the roof, they've found the groof

Vulfmon - Disco Snails (YT)

[-] A_Very_Big_Fan@lemmy.world 2 points 6 days ago

You beat me to it. When I saw this post I wondered if this is where they got the word from lol

[-] rumschlumpel@feddit.org 4 points 1 week ago

Would most native speakers actually pronounce "rooves" differently from "roofs"? Is "grooves" already pronounced differently from a hypothetical "groofs"?

I think there is a slight difference. Ooves is slightly longer and softer sounding than oofs.

[-] bdonvr@thelemmy.club 3 points 1 week ago

There is a difference, but it depends on accent. I don't think anyone would notice in speech if you switched though

[-] teft@piefed.world 3 points 1 week ago* (last edited 1 week ago)

f is the voiceless labiodental fricative and v is the voiced labiodental fricative.

Basically for roofs your vocal cords don't vibrate on the final f sound. For rooves your vocal cords vibrate on the final v sound.

[-] rumschlumpel@feddit.org 2 points 1 week ago* (last edited 1 week ago)

I know the difference between f and v, the question is whether it makes a difference in this specific case and if yes, whether most native English speakers actually know that. I'm not a native English speaker and words that end in -ooves aren't that common (when is the last time you said "grooves" or "hooves"?).

English is famously inconsistent about how written letters are pronounced, and there are a lot of accents.

[-] ThisIsNotHim@sopuli.xyz 1 points 1 week ago

Grooves and hooves are more common words than roofs.

I think I would notice if someone said groofs or hoofs (although that's also a word with a different meaning), but I'm really not sure I'd notice rooves vs roofs.

[-] teft@piefed.world 1 points 1 week ago* (last edited 1 week ago)

I am a native speaker. The pronunciation difference between those two words, even though one doesn’t actually exist, is only the vibration of vocal cords in the final sound. It’s like belief and believe.

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[-] skrrtly_ambrose@sh.itjust.works 3 points 1 week ago

the plural of roof should be roof. fite me

[-] veniasilente@lemmy.dbzer0.com 1 points 1 week ago

Having Regular English would be nice given some of the silly stuff English has.

Like, really, what's the root of "worse, worst" and "better, best"? "Wo" and "Be"????

[-] wander1236@sh.itjust.works 2 points 1 week ago

Wyrs- and bat- making their way through PIE, Proto-Germanic, and sometimes Dutch.

[-] veniasilente@lemmy.dbzer0.com 1 points 1 week ago

B-but that's even more irregular!

[-] plyth@feddit.org 1 points 1 week ago

groaf, grouves

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this post was submitted on 17 Jul 2025
626 points (100.0% liked)

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